Monitors

juan · January 18, 2015

Hi all, I'm looking foward to buy a new monitor to take with me on set. wich brand and model would you recomend.

thanks for reading and comenting.

J.

Guillaume Cottin · January 19, 2015

TVLogic, SmallHD DP7 or AC7 are priced to own. Rainbow HD for cine tape and other accessories integration.

If you are on a budget try Ikan.

My 2 cents!

juan · January 21, 2015

Thanks Guillaume! will check them out. wich one would you buy?

Guillaume Cottin · January 21, 2015

I own a TVLogic which is now outdated. A year or two ago I would have said TVLogic was ahead of SmallHD but they have caught up and now the choice is more difficult. I like the DP7 which has great features (Look-up tables etc...).

juan · January 23, 2015

gonna check it. thanks Guillaume!

Gregory Irwin · January 23, 2015

I own a TVLogic which is now outdated. A year or two ago I would have said TVLogic was ahead of SmallHD but they have caught up and now the choice is more difficult. I like the DP7 which has great features (Look-up tables etc...).

I agree. I still use my TV Logic for film work but I really like my SmallHD DP7 Highbright for digital work.

Guillaume Cottin · January 23, 2015

I think the DP7 is on its way to be the next standard on-camera monitor.

Dylan Sunshine Saliba · January 29, 2015

I was loving DP7, but I'm now seriously considering the Odyssey7Q+ (or even a used original Odyssey7). They are having a decent deal right now on the 7Q+ by throwing in two of their overpriced 256 GB SSD drives for free. Their customer support seems more willing to communicate as well. I've tried to talk to smallHD, but I get no answer. Convergent Design promptly and accurately replies. They are both OLED 7.7, both can cross-convert HDMI/HD-SDI, and both have LUT's. I don't need external RAW (yet), however, I'm from the school of thought where it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. And don't forget the battery mounts, GOOD Israeli arm, sun hood, cables and a bunch of other expensive accessories that I'm forgetting. Plus, I heard that SmallHD just got bought by one of the big boys, so I'm sure designs will be changing around there (call me crazy).

Satsuki Murashige · January 30, 2015

TVLogic 5.6 is reliable, I've put mine thru hell the last few years and it's still ticking. AC7 is ok but OLED screen is crap. DP7 is better. I find Odessey 7Q hard to pull focus from, never really looks sharp to me. But the recorder is pretty sweet.

John Miguel King · February 4, 2015

It depends on what use you are going to give the monitor. If for AC work, TV-Logic is the gold standard and the one 99.99% of focus pullers use. If you want more accurate colour for critical exposure and colour decisions, then OLED is the only contender technology. Small HD and Sony are the ones leading the charge here. There's also a new Transvideo doing the rounds.

Satsuki Murashige · February 5, 2015

Just worked with the 7" Atomos Shogun, it is much sharper than the Oddessy 7Q and worth considering.

Dylan Sunshine Saliba · February 17, 2015

I just got an Odyssey7 with an 256 SSD and a couple of different power cables from eBay for $1300. Everything was in perfect shape and I feel like a whole new camera operator with the luxury of the OLED. I can accurately judge focus, color and exposure again! (it's the little things) I love when a purchase makes you want to get out and shoot! I can completely vouch for the build quality and usefulness of this unit. I did get the portabrace cover/case for it and it works well as a sun hood / rain fly.

Josh Tree Park · March 2, 2015

The only true 1080P resolution monitor in the market in a small form factor is TVLogic's popular VFM-056's successor, VFM-058W. It truly displays 1080P scale and the sharpness on that monitor is incomparable to any other monitors in market (DP7, Odyssey, etc...) I use it to pull focus and since it displays all 1080P resolution pixels, there is no grey area whether you pulled a great focus or not. It was pricy when I bought it last year (it still probably is) but I'm telling you, aside from its brightness, it's the best one so far.

Satsuki Murashige · March 2, 2015

The 7" Shogun and the the 7" Sony DVF-L700 are also 1080p. Of course, the latter is $4K, so not really comparable...

Michael LaVoie · March 3, 2015

Is the Shogun capable of reading and recording 4096? Last I heard it could only capture UHD. Was wondering if I could use it with my FS7 when I need to capture Raw.

Matt Kelly · March 13, 2015

Hey guys! Just found my way here because I'm on the hunt for a new monitor, and thought I would share a few personal opinions as we all seem to be in a similar boat. Sorry in advance for a lengthy detailed post!

Ive been pulling focus for about 7 years now I've been using the odyssey 7Q for focus for a little over a year now and it's been pretty great. I love the easy access to zoom, as well as the added bonus of being able to capture takes for my own personal review (or the operator). More and more this is actually a terrific feature, because we always have to deal with unpatching the feed to video village if we want to review our own takes for operating or focus quality checks. I was approached by 600 reps multiple times last year about this issue.

While I do agree that the odyssey feels a bit soft sometimes, especially when at the 4x zoom, it's still better looking than any of the SmallHD panels that I've used (actually, I believe the SmallHD 7" OLED has the same panel as odyssey, but lacks the flexible zoom functionality).

Recently however, I've become more interested in something a tad lighter (for attachment to a FIZ) and a tad sharper....because why the hell not? We've been shooting HD for years now and only a few monitors have an actual native HD resolution. Even the newest Transvideo is $4000 and only 1024x576 in its picture area!!

So, I just played with the Shogun a bit and the panel is fantastic. It's sharp, bright, and easy to see in daylight without a hood. Unfortunately, like every other monitor, it's nowhere near the perfect solution. The menu options are absolutely lame. I rarely use focus assist on any monitor because it can easily fool me, but I know a lot of you guys like it. The shogun's options for it are downright useless. It's either ON or OFF....No threshold options of any kind. It does have a 2:1 zoom, and a fairly easily accessible image flip option, but lacks a 1/4-20 mounting point on either side, which is my preferred mounting point for monitors with flip functionality. The odyssey wins in that regard with side mounting points and...drumroll please.... AUTO IMAGE FLIP! Why this feature ever went away for us is beyond me.

Thankfully, the newest TVlogic VFM-058W finally has more than 2 damn buttons on it, and they FINALLY implemented an image flip feature. The downside to this monitor in my personal opinion is the size, the lack of auto flip, and the still somewhat annoying menus (I've never been a huge fan of TVlogic menus or button layout). I'm a bit bummed about the Atomos not being a better optIon because I prefer the screen to the TVlogic AND the odyssey. It's really THE panel that we need! Does anyone know of any other monitors that use this panel?

The Shogun may just win for me because of its superior OLED panel, the record review bonus, the lighter weight (pretty cheap plastic has an upside!) That said, the cheap build quality does make me nervous, and the audio meters/record buttons being on the screen all the time is just annoying. I'm interested in hearing more opinions.

Adrian Sierkowski · March 13, 2015

For the cheap build I wonder how much it'd cost to CNC a cage for it of somet kind; just to give it a little extra armor.
Hell I wonder if you could even just 3d print something simple if ever inclined to learn it/ look into it.

Phil Rhodes · March 13, 2015

Bear in mind that the Shogun has a 1920x1200 display, of 19:10 aspect ratio as is (or at least was) common for computer displays and tablets. It is, presumably, a display panel intended for tablets or very small notebook computers. The point is, though, that the audio metering occupies the 120 pixel region at the top or bottom of the display that isn't required for the image, so you aren't actually obscuring the image with the metering.

As to a case, if I were to have something CNC'd, I'd probably just replace the plastic case altogether. One of the main problems with the Shogun is that the audio I/O connector (an 0B series lemo, if memory serves) is on the right hand side and the supplied XLR breakout cable is much too short - it's so short it's almost impossible to support the weight of the four XLRs by tying it off to anything. Probably the connector is soldered down to a board, but prospective owners might want to budget to get a better cable built if they needed the analog audio I/O.

P

Simon Ng · May 18, 2015

7"inch + Peaking + High Bright

Awesome Focus Monitor with low budget.

http://www.bon.co.kr/eng/products/models.html?model=bem072h

Auston Call · November 18, 2016

I just wanted to revive this topic for a minute, as I'm trying to decide on a monitor to buy and I wanted to get some opinions on the newer SmallHD monitors that are out now. I pretty much always use TVLogic's, I know them well and trust them, but the SmallHD 702 High Bright really has my attention. I've checked it out in store but haven't had a chance to use one in the field yet. Does anyone think this would be good alternative or would you just stick with a TVLogic? Thanks for any advice.

christian mann · December 5, 2016

I love the smallhd 702 high bright. just shot 6 days with it in bright bright daylight and no need for sunshade. previously I used the TVLogig ....56 so I can't compare it now with the TVLogic ...58 but the smallhd is 7" vs 5.6" of the latest TVLogic.....

Witht the TV Logic I often find myself zooming in 20% - no need for that with the smallhd.

I really like it to pull focus.

David Doherty · December 10, 2016

I can't offer any insight on small HD monitors, but the TV logic 058 is streets ahead of the 5.6". The screen is a little smaller but its ridiculously sharp, and if you like to use focus assist it gives a great response in most situations. Its also a little heavier and definitely gets a lot hotter compared to the 5.6" if any of that is a concern.

Robin R Probyn · December 11, 2016

Also have the TV Logic 058.. very nice small monitor .. has 3 function switches ..some built in LUT,s.. screen protector..

Dan Quigley · February 23, 2017

Any one try out MustHD's monitors? The specs seem nice but they seem relatively new so I haven't seen any reviews.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1312213-REG/musthd_m702s_7_1920x1200_full_hd.html

Mark Kenfield · February 23, 2017

Any one try out MustHD's monitors? The specs seem nice but they seem relatively new so I haven't seen any reviews.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1312213-REG/musthd_m702s_7_1920x1200_full_hd.html

I'd love to hear feedback on them too. Their 2200(!) nit 7" HD monitor sounds kind of incredible for outdoor use! (though they lack a little on the monitoring features front compared to the competition, but no one else is making a monitor THAT bright)